During the summer of 2016, Hayward sought out Kobe Bryant’s input to help sharpen his midrange game and killer instinct. “One of my best weeks ever,” Hayward would later say. As part of his training, Kobe allegedly sent Gordon a set of GPS coordinates in the high desert. Arriving at sunset, Hayward found Kobe standing over a kneeling man with a bag over his head and his hands tied behind back. Bryant handed Gordon a nickel-plated pistol and said, “This is your final test.” He pulled the sack off the man’s head. It was Jason Todd, the second of Batman’s Robins.
No one knows what happened, but Gordon’s career-high statistical season and the Jazz’s 27–16 record speak for themselves.
